The present invention relates to a new and improved cable finishing apparatus or machine.
Generally speaking, the cable finishing apparatus or machine of the present development is of the type comprising a first cable guide arranged along a cable path of travel or pathway, a pair of transport rolls arranged following the first cable guide along the cable path of travel, and a second cable guide as well as a cable gripper unit possessing actuatable grippers or gripper elements. The gripper unit can be pivoted about an axis into a cable finishing or processing position, the pivot axis for the gripper unit being arranged essentially perpendicular to the cable path of travel. Furthermore, there is provided a cutter unit or device which is arranged along the cable path of travel following the grippers of the cable gripper unit.
Cable finishing machines, among other things, serve for the automatic fabrication of cable sections or lengths which are freed or bared of insulation at their ends and equipped with a cable socket, connector lug, cable shoe or the like. The cable shoe press, which automatically infeeds cable shoes or the like, mounts such at the wire end of the cable freed of the electrical insulation and presses such into operative connection therewith. This cable shoe press is arranged externally of the cable path of travel. In order to be able to bring the end of the cable which is bared of the electrical insulation into the so-called fitting or processing position by means of the cable gripper unit, it is necessary to bend the cable out of its cable path of travel. On the other hand, the cable equipped with the cable shoe or the like must be further transported along the cable path of travel. Due to the bending or flexing of the cable there frequently is formed thereat a permanent kink or bend which hinders the further transport of the cable and which can lead to disturbances in the automatic operation of the cable finishing machine. This danger becomes increasingly greater as the cable is subjected to greater bending actions, in order to be able to place the end of the cable freed of the insulation into the fitting position. On the other hand, it is desirable to arrange the cable shoe press, for reasons of providing unobstructed access thereto, as far as possible from the cable path of travel. With a given pivot radius of the gripper unit this spacing becomes that much greater the closer that the angle enclosed between the fitting or processing position and the cable path of travel approaches 90.degree..